Taylor Swift has risen from a young teenager aspiring to become a country singer to one of the biggest musical acts in the entire world. She's the only female to ever win a Grammy Award for album of the year three times, has countless number one hits and multiple platinum albums, and has proven that she can fit into various genres from country to pop to Americana. But throughout her impressive rise to superstardom, she's had her mom Andrea by her side and they remain incredibly close to this day.
Andrea Swift is a native of Pennsylvania, you know, the same state where young Taylor and her brother Austin Swift grew up on a Christmas tree farm which inspired a seriously catchy holiday music video made from old home movies. From her daughter's many tours around the world, Andrea has developed a steady fan base over the years from Swifties meeting her out on the road. So it was devastating news when Taylor revealed her mother's cancer diagnosis for the first time.
Andrea Finlay presents the milestone award to her daughter Taylor Swift at the 50th annual Academy of Country Music Awards at AT&T Stadium on Sunday, April 19, 2015, in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Andrea was initially diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. Her cancer battle inspired the heartwrenching "Soon You'll Get Better" on Lover.
"Everyone loves their mom; everyone's got an important mom, but for me, she's really the guiding force," Taylor told Variety.
"Almost every decision I make, I talk to her about it first. So obviously it was a really big deal to ever speak about her illness."
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The superstar revealed that while her mother was undergoing chemotherapy they ended up finding a tumor, which limited Andrea's availability to be onsite during the Lover tour.
"She was going through chemo, and that's a hard enough thing for a person to go through," Taylor said. "While she was going through treatment, they found a brain tumor. And the symptoms of what a person goes through when they have a brain tumor is nothing like what we've ever been through with her cancer before. So it's just been a really hard time for us as a family."
Through her cancer battle, Andrea has remained strong and even made appearances in Taylor's Netflix documentary Taylor Swift: Miss Americana. Even during the coronavirus pandemic, Taylor didn't slow down with her music despite her mother's illness, releasing two new hit albums -- folklore and evermore. She even re-recording her old album Fearless and included many previously unreleased tracks from the vault.
A source told Entertainment Tonight in December 2020 that Taylor wanted to slow down in order to spend time with her mother Andrea and the rest of her family and was grateful for the support she had been receiving from her longtime boyfriend, actor Joe Alwyn.
"[Taylor] has been having a tough time with her mom's health, but her mom is getting treatment and she and her family have been trying to stay optimistic," the source shared. "She has been focusing on her music and spending a lot of time with Joe. Taylor wanted to take some time to herself and her family this year, so in that regard, the quarantine and break has been positive for her."
Throughout her mom's cancer battle, Swift has continued making music. She and her mother even teamed up to donate $50,000 in 2020 to a mother of five who lost her husband to coronavirus right before Christmas. What a considerate act for those in need despite the tough battle going on at home.
It's clear that Taylor and Andrea are setting an incredible example for their fans and the rest of the world. They have not let the cancer diagnosis get them down and are continuing to play their part doing good for others and keeping positive. Sending nothing but the most love to this family and wishing Andrea Swift a very happy Mother's Day this year with her loved ones!
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